Expos and Trade Shows

Last weekend I attended the Gay Life Expo at the Javits Center. While I was impressed with the overall glass geometric design of the building, the meeting hall in which the expo was located was a huge concrete dungeon! The facility does not compare well with many of the newer convention centers that I have visited. The expo itself was relatively crowded, and there was a good buzz on the floor. People were happily interacting with each other and vendors, and a positive mood permeated. The food and entertainment vendors did a good job interacting with atendees through sampling and raffles for prize giveaways. There was a lot of lead generation that occured with these vendors. Other service and product vendors (tourism CVBs, concierge services, local advocacy groups, some retail stores) did not do a good job in getting information from customers. They merely handed out information and frequently did not interact with attendees. There was little brand recognition gained, no lead generation, and no thought leadership from these. They did not seem to have a strong marketing vision to maximize sales for this event. In general, I think the organizers of the expo did a good job of greating a positive mood and experience for attendees, but certain vendors could do a better job using the event to reach potential customers.

It was interesting to see Pier 94 as it was being built for the BizBash show. It made it seem more like a giant alumunim box than it normally does! The union labor that it takes to transform the space is both massive and expensive. And the conversation with the head of security helped show the other aspects of infastructure planning that was needed. The supervision of load in and loud out itself must be hectic and require rigid organization and scheduling.

I attended the show itself only for an hour or so in the early afternoon on Thursday. It was awkward to walk around the show as someone who is not a meeting planner or supplier. Most vendors seemed promptly uninterested in me when they either did not recognize the name of my company, or found out that I was only a student. I didn't realize that the badge would have my name and company on it (a great idea!), so those who did know my company (New York Guest - a guest and vistors service firm) assumed that I was the delegated representative for event planning! This created several awkward conversations for me! But overall, I thought the check in process was great and the names tags were incredibly useful (especially with the scanable bar code!) Several tables were agressive in getting those scans, while others did not show much interest.

The show as pretty crowded when I was there, and there was certainly a lot to see and do. Many vendors had very attractive setups or entertainment that attracted me. Then again, I suppose its easier for a company featuring the human disco ball as a product to gather attention than it is for a more serious company. Nevertheless, I think think there are more creative ways to show off plates, venues, etc. to really create branding (though I'm sure the literature at these tables was well put together, showing off their brand, etc. If I were a meeting planner interested in finding venues, i would probably approach them. Nevertheless, they should make the effort to approach new customers themselves!) I did see a number of great ideas there, from some of the lighting designs to some great photo-shop like activities putting peoples heads onto different things. I was mostly impressed by the entertainment items (being that I'm not a meeting planner) like the drummers and the golf simulation. I was a little disappointed by the catering offerings. Many places did not even offer free tastings, but only had food on display. (then again, I was also looking for free bites to eat, soo......)

Oh, and where were the lighs in the honeycomb behind the check in desk? It just looked like some green lights displayed! Problems?!